106 TASMANIA AND THE ANTAECTIC 



Dayman, who was left in charge of the magnetic observatory, 

 writes, * Sir J. Franldin expressed his regret that he had not 

 seen more of you while you were here.' Others had occupied 

 his attention. 



Lady Franklin had established a Natural History Society, 

 or rather Soirees, that met every fortnight, on Monday evenings 

 at Government House, and Hooker was elected an honorary 

 member. Lady Franklin herself was, it seems, somewhat 

 imperious, and to the young man incomprehensible in her 

 autocratic ways. Hence he writes (November 9, 1840) : 



Lady Franklin . . . would like to show me every kind- 

 ness, but does not understand how, and I hate dancing 

 attendance at Government House. I have dined there five 

 or six times. . . . She very kindly invited me to go to Port 

 Arthur in their yacht, to botanise ; we were three days 

 away, — ^two of them at sea, and the third, a Sunday, it 

 rained furiously. I got about 600 specimens on Monday, 

 and a few after service on Sunday, though Lady F. did not 

 like it, and very properly, but I thought it excusable as 

 being my only chance of gathering Anopterus glandulosus. 

 Do not think this is my habit. Captain Boss is too strict, 

 w^ere there no other reasons. 



His own disinclination to spend his time in meaningless 

 amusements can be gathered from letters of the period. Herein 

 he was fortified by a letter from his Glasgow friend, the botanist 

 Arnott, who warns him to collect, not to dance or amuse him- 

 self : ' H.M. does not pay for this.* He quotes the example 

 of Lacy and ColHe, who were not employed to play the fiddle 

 on Beechey's voyage, yet that seemed the principal part of 

 their occupation ! 



His main concern from April to July 1841 was botanising 

 work that afterwards bore fruit in his ' Flora of Tasmania.' He 

 has an eye, however, for human affairs. Among the trees 

 charred by the natives' bush-fires from ancient times, he 

 marks some few hollowed out by fire to form their houses : 

 a meagre record of the thousands of native Tasmanians, for 

 of them all ' only three remain, all males, and they consist of an 

 old and a middle-aged man and child. They are very savage, 



